SENTENCES totalling more than 20 years have today been given to a gang who set up a drug running base camp in Southampton.

Judge Peter Ralls QC said they had taken part in a significant operation involving substantial quantaties of heroin and crack cocaine.

None had any legitimate financial support, yet had substantial money.

The prosecution alleged the dealers had seen Southampton as an “easy target" and used hotels in the city to sell the hard drugs.

However, following a surveillance operation, they were arrested after police raided two hotel rooms in the city's Ibis Hotel on March 8 last year, finding cocaine and heroin with a street value of £5,850 as well as drug paraphanalia.

More than £500 in cash and mobile phones - some of them “dirty phones” used to organise deals - were also seized.

Prosecutor Rob Welling told jurors: “These defendants chose Southampton as it has a large supply of customers and good links to London via the M3.”

The judge was satisfied Ricardo Bogle, 34. who had 16 previous convictions, was the gang leader and had obtained significant financial gain from the operation. He was jailed for nine years.

Tyrone Downer, 24, and Kwesi Woode, 36, were his lieutenants. They were jailed for four and a half years and five years respectively.

Panashe Madanire, 19 and Mohamed Guetfi, 22, who acted as runners, received three years and two years each.

Bogle, Madanire, Woode, all with addresses in London, and Downer, from Luton, had denied conspiring to supply drugs.

Geutfi, also from London, had pleaded guilty.

A sixth defendant, Jordon Lindsay, 24, from Hayes, Middlesex, was acquitted.

At the end of the hearing, the judge praised DC Mike Hedley, the officer in the case, for his work and wanted his remarks forwarded to the Chief Constable.